Interesting article in MS Quarterly Report Magazine

There was a very interesting article in MSQR Magazine this month.  I thought some of you would like to read some of the information stated in the article, to hopefully get a better understanding of Optic Neuritis when it deals with Multiple Sclerosis or other disorders.

Women are twice as likely to develop O.N. as men.  It occurs more often within the Caucasian population.

Optic Neuritis IS a demyelination process.  However, MS is not the only cause of O.N..  Other autoimmune disorders may case ON such as a condition called Neuromyelitis Optica. (NMO for short)  O.N. related to this disorder is often more severe that O.N. associated with MS.  Even though O.N. can often be related to MS and other demyelinating disorders, demyelination is not the only cause.  These can include bacterial infections, Lyme disease, cat scratch fever, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B, herpes and Lupus.  Sometimes it can be a complication of diabetes.  Nutritional deficiencies can also cause Optic Neuritis.

O.N. usually affects just one eye, but it may occur in both eyes all at once.  It is associated with pain when moving your eye and some vision loss or blurred vision.  Your "color vision" may become affected, such as red colors may temporarily appear dull or less bright in the affected eye.  This is discovered when your physician gives you a color vision test where he shows you dots of green and red, with a picture contained within those dots.  If you cannot make out the image among those dots, this can show Optic Neuritis at work.

While this article says that ON can clear on it's own, it's always been the advice of any Neurologist that I have seen, to treat this flair-up in vision, with steroids.  This helps to reduce the inflammation that causes the pain and to recover your vision more quickly.  Although you may not recover 100% of your vision that you experienced before your "attack" of Optic Neuritis, most usually do after the first attack.

Before I saw this article, I did not know that there could be so many causes for Optic Neuritis.  I actually thought this was a symptom of MS and MS only.  Even after being diagnosed for 13 years, I still learn something new everyday....

Heather

[CtResident]

Interesting about the vision test to see the dots in the picture. My husband has red/green color blindness. When he had to take his driver's ed test, he didn't see any dots at all, and the testing guy told him about this. The way my husband can get through the traffic light is that he sees the bottom one turn "white".

So is color blindness a type of ON?

Suzanne

P.S. we have to tell the kids that it's not that Dad can't see all the colors in the world, it's not like he's living in a black/white/gray world. But he likes to play a game with them where they show him a color and he says the wrong answer. His favorite color is.....plaid! lol          

I just feel sad when he doesn't get enthused about fall foliage like I do!

[Heather3418]

As far as I know Optic Neuritis and color blindness have nothing to do with each other.  You may want to pass this one by Quix.  I really don't know.

Sorry that your hubby is missing out on a colored world.  I can't even imagine what it's like.  

Heather

[Jenn0030]

I tell you what I know, I hope someone will chime in if the can add something.

Most of the time, color blindness is a genetic defect that is present when the individual is born. Less commonly, color blindness occurs as part of aging or is caused by a medication or disease.

An individual with achromatopsia cannot tell the difference between colors. Some people with achromatopsia can only see shades of gray. A person with this condition usually has poor distance vision, light sensitivity, and rapid eye movement.

Dyschromatopsia is the more common form of color blindness. People with this condition usually have excellent vision. The person usually cannot tell the difference between shades of red and green. In rare cases, the person cannot tell the difference between shades of blue and yellow. Most persons with the condition are unaware that they are color blind.

Rarely, color blindness may also be caused by some medications Disorders of the retina of the eye, or of the optic nerve from the eye to the brain, may also interfere with color perception.

I developed a loss in my color vision testing when I developed ON.  I had not noticed any trouble with color prior to color tests. (I work in this field, I was shocked that I had missed the change in vision) I has improved slightly over the last 6 months.  

Suzanne, was your question in regards to actual red/green deficiency?  Something that he acquired or was present from birth?

Jenn

[CtResident]

Mike said he was given a test in 3rd or 4th grade and the school nurse told him. He always saw the green light as white, so he's always had it. He said it goes through the mother's side of the family, through the father. And his grandfather was also colorblind. So if our daughters had sons, they would (might?) be colorblind.

He can see colors, just missing certain ones. He's got a sense of humor, so when I said "oh, you flunked the color test?" he replied "No, they did. You guys just make up these wacky colors that don't exist!"

He certainly is a unique guy. For years I nagged him to get his eyes checked, he was pushing 40, everyone in his family wore glasses, etc. So he finally went (miracle!) and when he came back, he said he didn't need glasses. I thought he was pulling my leg, they're on order. Nope. He has one eye as farsighted, the other as near-sighted, so they work together. Go figure.

Suzanne

[Jenn0030]

People who are born with a "color blindness" are lacking a certain wavelength of cone in their retina to distinguish between whatever color(s) they are unable to see of the spectrum.

The Ishihara color test is one of the tests that the doctor can do to check the color vision.  It is quick and easy, there are many sites on line.  Not usually very accurate do to computer glare, color differences, etc.

I have never heard of a relationship between congenital color blindness an ON.  However I am not a physician.